Can the airport be the stage for a fair and square technological experience?

Good news for all travelers. From the heir of the Concorde to the app “Made in Italy” to find one’s way around the airport: great high-tech innovations are in store for us!

Does the heir to the Concorde really exist?

The supersonic jet picking up the heritage of the Concorde was expected to first take off in 2018, but its official debut has been postponed by a few years. For now, a number of aerospace companies are testing different prototypes. The Concorde last flew in 2003, and since then technology has made a quantum leap, reducing emissions and improving performance. Passengers will thus be able to fly from Rome to Sydney in 7 hours. Just a couple movies, a bit of chatting, lunch, and you’re in the Down Under!

How would you like boarding in half the time?

Time is money, even at the airport. Speaking of optimization, do you know that in the coming years passengers will be able to board planes using their faces as an ID card? We’ve already discussed biometric boarding: thanks to this technology, the face will become a passport and boarding pass at the same time, because the biometric doors will recognize its characteristics and match it with a previously taken photograph. Testing provided noteworthy results: “it’ll take 20 minutes to board 250 people, as opposed to 45 minutes taken at present”, as reports the British renowned newspaper The Telegraph.

A number of airports are already experimenting biometric identification, and it is expected that “by 2021 - as foresees The Telegraph - most airports will adopt face recognition for boarding purposes”. Passengers who’ve already experimented the technology have given positive feedback. It’ll be an end-to-end trip without interruption!

Made in Italy innovation lands in Japan. What's all about?

A fully Italian project makes its debut at the Narita Airport in Tokyo: an app for high-precision geolocation that will help travelers find their way within the terminal. It’s name is NariNAVI, developed by Ntt Data in cooperation with the startup company GiPStech. With the help of geomagnetic positioning, users will be able to view where they are and select the best route to take by consulting a 2.5-D map of the three airport terminals, each on more than one floor.
It is an excellent result that awards a technological platform made to measure on customer requirements, and that will also be implemented – in the near future – at museums, stations, and stadiums, as well as industrial and hospital contexts.